18 month old and Disney

[ryleesmom]

We are planning our next disney vacation for November of 2004. This is our first trip with our daughter who will be 18 months old. My question is what should I expect? I know we will have to go at a slower pace, but will there be plenty of rides for her to go on, and will she like the characters or will they be too big and scare her? Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

 

[castlegazer]

Your DS will think she is in heaven! I took my DS at one - many said, no way will he enjoy it - boy, were they wrong. He loved every minute of it. He loved the characters except Rafiki - but that guy scares me at that size of character - why they couldn't have made the costume a little smaller and used smaller CMs I will never know!

She can do it all - well, you know except the ones you already know she can't do - Splash Mountain and the like. I was amazed at how geared the parks are to wee ones - after all I had spent 30 plus years feeling they were geared to me and any particular age group I was in.

For naps - because we went on the slower months therefore shorter park hours - we used Country Bear Jamboree - the wee ones in our party drifted right out in the chilled air and darkened theater (Norway worked too for some reason - although I thought it was pretty scary but if you're tired enough...). We did every area but just a few rides in each. We did the Belle's story hour and this is a must do for that age. I don't think its a great idea to back to back the rides - so we broke it up with events like Belle's and little off-the-beaten path areas to just run around and be a toddler. We also spent some time on the railroad which they loved. Be creative and don't think like an adult - think about what they will find amazing - like looking into the wishing well or exploring the lighted sidewalk in Epcot.

I would highly recommend your own stroller for naps and eating on the run - be sure it has enough of a sun visor or rig something up.

Go back to the resort when they have had enough - don't try and push it. The pool is just as good as anything else in their minds.

 

[lindaso]

We got back 2 weeks ago and our youngest was 15 months. He loved it! We wound up going at the pace of our 6 year old and the younger two dealt with it fine. The little one's favorite ride was Buzz Lightyear and we rode it many times. There was so much for him to look at, he really was happy there.

We even took him on the the family raft ride at Blizzard Beach. There was no height restriction on the ride itself and the chair lift said 31 inches. He was 33 1/2 so up we went. The people on the line were pointing at us...they were either saying "look at the cute baby" or "look at that crazy mother" LOL!!

He did adjust better to the unexpected as the week wore on. For example, he cried during Mickey's Philharmagic which we did on the 1st day. The water sprayed and the music was loud. But by the end of the trip, he was used to surprises, the characters and the stimulation and he loved it.

Enjoy!

 

[DisFam95]

We are taking our 1st trip with our 18mo baby in Jan. Castlegazer, I know what you mean, I always thought Disney was geared towards me (adults) but come on..it's Mickey Mouse!! I was so stressed thinking about how in the world could we possibly think of going to Disney with our child. But then realized how stupid that sounded!! Children this age can do everything except the big coasters. Let them go at their own pace, let them approach the characters or just watch the 1st day. I plan on going to places around here like Chucky Cheese pizza so he can get used to seeing big loud characters and shows. Keep reading the boards..I've gotten lots of good tips and keep a file by the computer to jot things down.

Have fun!!

 

[castlegazer]

DisFam - its funny you mention Chuck E Cheese, my DS is scared of the characters there- but there is a huge difference between those and the characters in WDW. I can only explain it by saying - the ones in WDW are actual CMs and are trained in how to not appear intimidating.

We took character greeting very slowly and introduced the concept at a breakfast so he could see them interact with other children. He was shy with some and loved others and as I said, was down right scared of a few.

I can't stress enough about doing little things that seem kinda silly, but are huge kicks for them at that age - like runing up and down a path for no reason or looking at the teacups in the bushes. We went with another couple and their DD was different than our son - they were able to ferociously tackle many rides back to back - we weren't able to do that. After eating breakfast at CRT, where by the way my DS slept through most of it forcing us to have Cindy kiss him the cheek while we took a photo while he was snoozing away so that he would be able to see some time later that Cindy kissed him, we only went on SM (which did scare my DS - imagine that) and then just did little events like Belle's story time and playing over at TT and getting Mickey's autograph - which he was scared of but loved Mickey the day before at a breakfast. We ate Mickey bars in the shade went to Country Bear Jamboree - to nap - and then to the parade. This was it for one day. All the while, our friends DD was going on every ride, and wasn't scared of anything. Every child is different. You just have to plan and know everything there is to do - and then on that day just go with your child's flow. Your planning will help you adjust your day to accomodate how they are reacting. My knowing about the rose garden was a huge help when he needed a little time to just run after the parade and sitting in the hot sun for that long.
Have fun watching their eyes light up - that's the best part.